


Rogue Transformations

by BashfulTenrec



Category: The New Legends of Monkey (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Monkey gets cranky when he doesn't sleep, Post-Season/Series 01, Tripkey, the cloud has a personality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 20:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15759384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BashfulTenrec/pseuds/BashfulTenrec
Summary: Monkey really should have expected this. His other powers were slowly returning, so the transformations were sure to follow at some point. He just wasn’t expecting them to be so random.





	1. Chapter 1

Wind gently caressed his face as he sped along on the cloud, relishing the feel of the breeze in his hair. Monkey crouched low and urged more speed and leaned into a gentle curve, grinning as he looked down on the landscape from his mount. It had been so long, he’d almost forgotten how peaceful and quiet it was up here in the sky instead of being trapped on the ground like normal folk. The cloud was still fickle with him, even after that fateful day it had answered him to save Tripitaka at the Jade Mountain. But today it had deigned to answer his call and spend some quality time with him.

It also conveniently got him out of laundry duty, but that wasn’t the point. He had powers to re-cultivate after all.

Monkey slowed to a stop after climbing to a point where the air was thin and he couldn’t make out details on the ground. He sat down to watch the other, ordinary clouds float by. A hawk circled lazily on a thermal column of air several miles away. He idly toyed with the idea that maybe, once he and the cloud were fully in sync again, he could collect the scrolls by himself and spare himself from a mundane hike to all the corners of the world.

Monkey yelped as the cloud bucked him off.

“I wasn’t serious!” he yelled, spreading out his arms and legs to slow his fall, stomach churning. “I’m sorry!”

Monkey tried to call the cloud, although the rushing wind in his face made it difficult. If the cloud didn’t catch him this was definitely going to hurt, he realized as he could pick out more and more detail from the ground. He twisted his head to try and catch a glimpse of the cloud and only saw the hawk’s spiraling shape in the distance.

Lucky bird.

A familiar magic sparked through his veins and tingled at his fingertips. His transformation power!

Monkey let out a cackle of glee when the changes began, and quickly turned to a bellow of despair when he realized he had transformed himself into a flailing ox.

“No, no, no!” he shouted, although the words strangled into a prolonged moo. Magic crackled again and he rapidly shrank into a rabbit, then elongated into a cobra just as quickly.

The trees zoomed towards him and he squeezed his eyes shut, desperately focusing on a bird or any other flying creature, before his normal count of limbs suddenly sprang out from his hide and itching feathers spread all over his body. He screeched and pointed his eagle body up into a steep climb, wings screaming in pain against the force of the fall, but his uncoordinated effort only managed to barely slow him as he hurtled through the canopy of the forest. Branches grabbed at him as he bounced off of seemingly every tree limb all the way down, tumbling in a barely controlled crash back to earth.

The ringing in Monkey’s ears faded and he heaved a sigh. He really disliked flying without the assistance of the cloud. Mostly because he wasn’t good at it at all. That hawk made it look easy, which really ruffled Monkey’s feathers. Using his shaky wings, he eased himself into a wobbly stand, relieved to find he had only lost some feathers here and there and received only a few minor scratches and bruises. The cloud unceremoniously dumping him was more wounding than anything the trees had done to him.

Well, the reunion with one of his many powers could have gone better, but at least they were back. Monkey shut his eyes and focused on returning to his devilishly handsome god form and waited.

And waited.

Monkey’s eyes flew open in confusion. Why wasn’t he transforming back? This never happened. He clawed at the grass and clacked his beak. At the very least he could clean himself up in the nearby stream while he waited for his powers to wear off.

Hopping along the ground made him feel ridiculous, but his wings were too banged up for him to even consider attempting to fly again. Not that he wanted to fly; he’d quite had enough of it for now. Falling from the cloud had chased that desire right out of him.

His power surged within him, and he grinned as much as the eagle’s face allowed when he felt himself return to his normal self.

“That’s better,” he smirked. He couldn’t wait to show off to Tripitaka. Monkey had never employed his transformations nearly as much as his other powers back in the day (after all, why mess with perfection?) but they definitely had their uses. Mischief gleamed in his eyes as he imagined what tricks and jokes he now had access to.

The power sparked again, sending shivers up his spine. Dread pooled in his stomach when he felt scales cover his body and spines grow from his back. His legs suddenly seized up, fusing together, and he pitched forward wildly.

\---

Tripitaka found him flopping uselessly on the grass gasping for breath.

"Oh you poor thing!" she exclaimed as she darted towards him. "A bird must have dropped you."

Not quite, but at least she was being sympathetic to his plight. She tried to grab him and was rewarded with a smack on the hand from his tail when his body involuntarily spasmed. Monkey cringed, although he doubted that would transfer to a carp’s face. She hissed and rubbed her hand, but wasn't deterred. She pulled off her long blue scarf, threw it over him and once he'd been tentatively secured in her arms, ran for the stream. His strong tail thrashed against her, his desperation to be in the water overriding his desire to not hamper his rescuer.

He abruptly plunged headfirst into the stream and he gasped when water flowed over his gills and he could breathe again.

Whipping his body around, he scanned the shore for Tripitaka, who had her scarf at her side, a triumphant smile lighting up her face. Monkey had the briefest feeling of guilt when he saw that she was doing the laundry he should have done earlier, and resolved he would make it up to her later. She just didn’t need to know the exact reason why he was doing so. Putting on a burst of speed, he fully jumped from the water to flash his fins and scales at his savior before diving back down and letting the current carry him further downstream.

Eventually he wound up in a little pool where the water was quiet and he could properly think. Monkey really should have expected this. His other powers were slowly returning, so the transformations were sure to follow at some point. He just wasn’t expecting them to be so random. Why couldn’t he control them? If it weren’t for Tripitaka... He angrily splashed some water, startling a nearby school of minnows. It would have been so humiliating if the Monkey King had met his end drowning on land in a carp’s body because he couldn’t control his own powers.

Other gods didn’t have to deal with the unfairness of it all.

He considered his dilemma. The others couldn’t possibly know about this, especially Tripitaka. Not until he got this sorted out. The energy that powered his transformations was very distinctive and seemed to give him at least some warning when it was acting up. He would just have to be able to slip away and make up excuses until it passed. It wouldn’t be easy, but he was the Monkey King. He could pull this off. He’d get the hang of shapeshifting again, he was sure of it.

It took another hour for the carp body to wear off, by then the sun was slowly setting over the mountains and casting long shadows into the pool. Monkey wrung the water out his hair as best he could and made his way back to the others, feeling downtrodden, but forced himself to act casual and relaxed.

"There you are," Pigsy grumbled when Monkey prowled into their clearing. Pigsy leaned close. "Tripitaka isn't very happy you skipped out on your turn to do laundry. She had to do it herself." Monkey waved him off.

"Lost track of time training," Monkey lied. "I'll make it up to her."

The judgment on Pigsy’s face was scathing. "Well you should be on your best behavior tomorrow. We're still a couple of days away from the nearest town and none of us like it when you two bicker on the road."

\---

The rest of the evening passed without any incident. Tripitaka had sighed at his explanation about the cloud, but ultimately accepted his offer to make it up to her next time. At least she understood that Monkey would be more useful to the quest if he took advantage of times the cloud would answer his summons to re-train what 500 years of imprisonment had taken from him.

The next morning, Tripitaka commented he looked like he hadn’t slept much and asked if everything was alright. He dismissed her concern with the first of many, many stifled yawns. What Monkey didn’t tell her was that he had awoken several hours before dawn to find he had taken the form of a purring kitten as he slept. While it had worn off quickly, he realized with dread that he couldn’t let his guard down even to sleep and spent the rest of the night away from everyone else in the forest, sleeping fitfully.

This might be trickier to manage than he thought if he couldn’t even sleep properly.

Monkey decided that he would trail behind the group as they travelled along the road to avoid being seen if something happened. He deliberately kept his pace slower than Pigsy, a difficult and greatly annoying task for him since he loved being up at the front. He had a close call on the road when he fully transformed into a stout little pony before snapping back to normal in another instant. Several hours later he felt a tortoise shell start to form along his spine, but by some miracle he managed to stop it like one stifles a sneeze. It happened so fast he couldn't get a grasp of how to do it again.

Thankfully the magic didn’t show any sign that it would return anytime soon. Monkey wasn’t sure if he could willingly transform into anything considering how buried his powers felt. Then again they had been so slippery when he tried to focus on them while they were surging, they probably wouldn’t obey him regardless.

After they stopped for the evening, Monkey followed Tripitaka into the trees for firewood. He hoped that he could start to make up for earlier so she wouldn’t be irritated at him, and sure enough she started peppering him with questions about his old life and god things.

“So if you could choose any set of powers other than your own, what would they be?” She snapped a small branch in two.

Monkey scoffed. “I don’t know why I’d want anything else. I’m already perfect the way I am.”

She cast a disbelieving look at him, sending a thrill of paranoia through him. Did she know…?

“Really?” Her tone matched her look. “There’s nothing else at all? You wouldn’t want Sandy’s speed or water powers or Pigsy’s lightning or…?”

“I’m already fast. I don’t need to swim to fight. And Pigsy’s powers are nothing to write home about,” Monkey said with a flippant wave of his hand. “Mine are clearly better.” If he could control them, that is.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll show them off once they start coming back,” Tripitaka mused. “I’m looking forward to seeing them in their full glory. At least for now the cloud is back with you,” she said as an afterthought after seeing his sour look.

Monkey looked down, tapping his staff into the dirt. “We still have a ways to go in that regard,” he admitted in a rush. He couldn’t keep the sulk entirely out of his tone, but Tripitaka graciously ignored it and the two fell into a companionable silence as they worked.

Bantering with Tripitaka was always fun to him, even if she took occasional, sometimes unwitting jabs at his ego, so he had let his guard down. He was relaxed enough that he didn’t notice his powers slowly rising up from within. When they finally spiked, he froze as he was picking up a small log, the rest of his armful falling to the ground, glancing wildly up at Tripitaka, who was facing away from him examining some moss on a tree.

Oh no. Not now...

He didn't so much transform as his entire body burst, abrupt and rough, into that of a tiger's, and he roared from the shock as he collapsed onto all fours. He shook his head to clear the loud clanging of blood rushing in his ears and ran a tongue over his fangs, panting.

Tripitaka whirled around and took a look at him before glancing around rapidly, her eyes widening.

"Monkey!" she screamed, slowly backing away. Her adrenaline tasted like acid on his tongue and his lip curled.

He stupidly opened his mouth to speak to her, reassure her it was fine, but a strained growl was all that came out. He could hear Tripitaka's heart racing as she shuffled backwards away from him, hands out. He knew he shouldn’t feel hurt by her actions but knew he wouldn’t forget her look of fear that was directed at him anytime soon. At least she had the sense to not turn tail and flee. Had he been a real tiger he would easily outrun and kill her. He tilted his head at her and tried to force his throat to make a purr but all that came out was a clumsy, guttural snarl. Tripitaka heart jumped and Monkey silently pleaded for her to not die of fright. He couldn’t help her in this form.

What sounds did tigers make to signify friendliness again?

He blinked with despair as he realized there was no way Tripitaka would understand what a friendly chuff was, considering she had never, in fact, seen a tiger, much less engage in friendly conversation with one. His ear flicked in annoyance when she screamed for him again, louder, and then for Pigsy and Sandy.

He huffed, tail thrashing. If he ran away she would be even more afraid since she would be alone, not knowing where the real Monkey was. Or Sandy would chase him down and kill him if he didn't find a way to undo this transformation fast. Monkey gazed at Tripitaka miserably.

He jumped a little when she tripped over a tree root that jutted from the ground and she fell hard on her back. He instinctively twitched to help her up but forced himself to stay still when her heart somehow started to race faster in response to him. As soon as he glimpsed tears welling up in her eyes, he had a moment of deliberation and ultimately decided the best move was to flop onto his side, rolling onto his back. He tucked his giant paws up to his chest and stared at her, putting on his most playful look and hoped the tiger's eyes didn't filter it into something menacing.

Tripitaka’s eyes were wide as she slowly climbed to her feet. Her adrenaline and terror had somewhat been exchanged for puzzlement rather than relief. Tripitaka was smart. She could figure this out. Monkey silently begged her to see through the temporary skin he was in, keeping as still as possible. He didn’t care if she found out about his secret; now he just wished for her to not be scared of him. Tripitaka’s brow was furrowed in confusion. Her lips parted slightly to speak.

Monkey’s ears pivoted towards the sound of footsteps crashing through the undergrowth and smelled two gods.

"Tripitaka!" Pigsy yelled. Tripitaka's eyes darted to where the sound was coming from and Monkey saw his chance. He leaped to his feet and took off in a flash in the opposite direction, scattered leaves as the only evidence he was there. His legs tore up the ground in his sprint, aiming to put as much distance between the gods and himself as possible, and he reveled in the speed of the tiger. He did have to admit, of all the forms he had taken of late he did resonate the most with this beast’s casual, confident power and grace.

The magic crackled through his veins again. Just as abrupt and rough as he had changed into this form was just as sudden as his exit. He shouted in pain when his arms became unequipped to handle the force of the momentum the tiger had so easily created. He barreled right into the trunk of a fallen tree and he bounced off to roll to a stop in some thorny bushes. He groaned. Lying there for a few minutes didn't seem like a bad idea, but he had to return to the others.

Monkey took stock of himself and stood up, grateful his armor had taken the brunt of his mishap. He whistled for the cloud, more out of habit than in expectation it would answer. To his dull surprise, the cloud drew near and he gingerly climbed on, picking leaves from his hair.

"You're enjoying this," Monkey hissed as they wove through the trees back to Tripitaka and the others. The cloud took off as soon as Monkey's foot barely touched the earth. Monkey guessed the cloud would be pouting for some time after his grumpy accusation and rolled his eyes.

Monkey found Pigsy examining Tripitaka with dubious look on his face and Sandy peering into the forest.

"A tiger. Here. In these woods."

“I know what I saw, Pigsy.” Tripitaka was looking in the direction where Monkey in his tiger form had fled, still nervous, but full of resolve.

“There hasn’t been a tiger seen in these parts for hundreds of years, Tripitaka,” Sandy replied warily.

Monkey cleared his throat and whipped out his staff for effect. “What’s this about a tiger now?”

Tripitaka fixed him with a disbelieving stare. “And where were you?” Her voice was taut from leftover adrenaline and the tension around her eyes indicated she was doing her best to not shout at him. His nose twitched and he poked a root with his staff.

“Can’t a god have a moment of privacy?” he finally forced out.

“You look like you got into a fight with a tree,” Pigsy observed, his gaze raking Monkey’s scuffed armor and scratched arms. “Didn’t you hear her call?”

“Nope,” Monkey lied, forcing a jovial tone. “Didn’t hear a thing. If there was some big cat roaming around I’d handle it.”

“It’s not if,” Tripitaka snapped, “There was. It ran off when it heard Pigsy and Sandy coming. Unlike another god, who didn’t bother to show up.”

It wasn’t his fault he was occupied when she’d called. Monkey stabbed at the ground in his frustration at the unfairness of it all and fired back. “If there was a tiger, why didn’t it attack you, hm? Even the dumbest predator can tell you don’t know how to properly fight back.” He immediately regretted his words.

“I don’t know, Monkey!” Tripitaka yelled, throwing her hands up and jumping to her feet. Pigsy sidestepped away from her to escape her wrath. “It had every opportunity to attack and it didn’t. It seemed different somehow. But you’re just the same as always. I’m going back.” She stormed off, Sandy following without a backward glance. Pigsy laid a light hand on Monkey’s shoulder.

“Really dropped the ball there, mate.”

Monkey silently glowered at him, jabbing his staff into the dirt.

“My advice? You might want to stay away until she’s had time to calm down,” Pigsy added, collecting Monkey’s pile of firewood before trotting after the others.

Monkey growled and savagely slashed at a tree with a magic imbued strike from his staff, leaving a deep, blackened gash on the bark, the edges smoldering. It wasn’t his fault all this was happening. The memory of the tiger called to him, teasing him, and Monkey longed to be back in that skin where he could sprint through the forest where nothing could touch him. The tiger knew its power and was in full control of it at all times. He should be like that. Not a washed up, broken god, completely out of touch with most of his powers and out of control with the rest of them. A shadow of his former glory.

The quiet of the forest worked its own magic on Monkey and helped him regain his sense of calm as he stalked through the trees. For once it became transparent to Monkey that Tripitaka’s anger was more from fright and hurt, and he couldn’t exactly blame her for lashing out. He had done the same with his own frustration that was directed at himself and she’d been an unfortunate target. He was racking up quite a list of things to make up for.

Monkey leaned against a tree, attempting once again to search within himself to bring the problematic power to heel. Every time he thought it was close, it squirmed out of his grasp like greased lightning. He could feel it lurking, waiting to catch him off guard to humiliate him again. Logically he knew his powers didn’t have a personality or a malevolent will of their own, but it certainly felt like it at the moment. His combat powers hadn’t been like this. Once they had returned to him they didn’t flicker in and out of existence when he needed them. With enough focus and training he could easily bring his fighting abilities back to where he once was before his imprisonment. But he couldn’t train his shapeshifting powers if the power itself was hiding or outright refusing him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, tapping his head against the bark. All he wanted was to be back to normal so he could be around his friends again. The magic bubbled up to the surface and flowed outwards before he could even attempt to suppress it.

Not again...

Pale gray fur sprouted all over his body as the ground careened towards him. Something small, then. A tail extended from his spine and twitching whiskers erupted from his face. He blinked several times and gave himself a shake before instinctively grooming his ears with his tiny clawed hands.

Ah. He was now a rat. The last time he was a rodent was to infiltrate a god's house to steal... Well he couldn't remember what the prize was after all this time. What he did remember was happily scampering away as the god screamed curses at the Monkey King and hurled furniture around the house in his rage. He quite enjoyed this form, actually, although something seemed unusual about it he couldn’t quite place. He brushed off the sensation as he imagined the endless mischief possibilities. He cracked a grin around his large incisors. If he was going to ride out the transformation, he might as well enjoy it.

He stood tall on his back legs, his nose rapidly twitching to catch the camp's familiar scents to regain his bearings. So many smells to explore! Once he got his transformations back under control he should really spend more time as a beast. They brought perspective to the world that few could appreciate. Maybe Tripitaka could carry him around when he got tired… He snickered to himself and scurried away.

\---

The atmosphere of the camp wasn’t nearly as tense as Monkey imagined it would be, but he still wouldn’t want to approach as his normal self. He ignored their quiet conversation and stealthily crept over to Pigsy’s pack. According to his acute nose, Pigsy had a cache of sweets hidden in a side pocket that he had rudely not shared with anyone, and Monkey was dead-set on liberating them for himself. He started to chew a hole in the fabric, tearing a hole just wide enough for him to get his small head through. When his teeth had just barely grazed the sweet’s wrapping, a hand grabbed his tail and yanked him out.

“Gotcha you little creep,” Pigsy growled, squeezing Monkey in his fists. Monkey let out an involuntary squeak and didn’t hesitate to deliver a sharp nip to Pigsy’s finger. “You little-!”

“Pigsy, wait!” Sandy appeared by Pigsy’s side and gently pulled Monkey free. “Don’t hurt this little one. Rats are friends.” Sandy carried him back down at her spot and sat down.

Tripitaka and Pigsy stared at her. “Friends?” Tripitaka echoed. Monkey tilted his head to listen. After all, most people didn’t share in his appreciation of the little creature. Then again, Sandy was not most people. Sandy gently tickled behind his ears and under his chin, which annoyed him despite knowing she meant well. He darted all the way up her arm to her shoulder and, after the briefest of pauses, gleefully burrowed and dug around in Sandy’s wild mane of hair. He’d been wanting to do that ever since they started journeying together. Sandy calmly allowed him to continue his exploration. Apparently he was not the first rat to have this idea. She tilted her head down to examine her hands.

“I lived in a sewer, you know. There were lots of rats. Those rats never threw rocks at me or called me cursed. They ensured I wasn’t ever truly alone.”

Monkey emerged and hopped back to Sandy’s arm to take a closer look at her. She really wasn’t like other gods at all. It both saddened and disturbed him. Sandy blinked away her distant look and held her hand out with a smile. He willingly climbed on to be held up in front of her face. She stared into his eyes, and Monkey squirmed as he felt like she was peering into his soul.

“Rats are quite docile and personable, especially after you get to know them,” she mused, mostly to herself. “This one, however, doesn’t appear to have anything intelligent to say.”

Any sympathy he had developed for Sandy over the past few minutes evaporated. Monkey moved to leave and sulkily headed towards Tripitaka. He, or at least the rat part of him, really wanted to investigate the blue scarf she always wore draped around her shoulders. She drew up her legs and shuffled away from him, face pinched in disgust. His whiskers drooped. Again, he couldn’t blame her for not knowing who the rat really was, but he couldn’t help but feel wounded that she was afraid of him. At least she wasn’t terrified for her life this time. To distract himself, Monkey carefully groomed his whiskers. He’d forgotten how clean rats liked to be.

“Tripitaka, why are you afraid? She quite likes you,” Sandy said.

She?

He was a girl now?

…Interesting. So that’s what was different about this transformation. His nose twitched. Oh well. It’s not like this was the first time.

Tripitaka’s lips pursed. “It’s… the tail,” she admitted. “It looks… strange.” Monkey had a feeling she was trying to word it politely for Sandy’s sake. Sandy thought for a moment before she gently scooped him up and held him out.

"This rat is Monkey."

Uh, what? Monkey froze mid whisker twitch. Surely Sandy of all people wasn't that perceptive...?

"You like most of Monkey, but he has several undesirable qualities. Like his arrogance, for example."

...What?

"Or his obnoxious vanity," Pigsy chimed in. "Or the fact that he would rather die than admit he has emotions except for indifference and bravado.”

Tripitaka grinned. "I was going to say the way he always runs out on chores but yeah, I like those better."

Sandy nodded. Monkey angrily coiled his tail around himself and ground his teeth. "So Monkey has... Several qualities you dislike, Tripitaka, but you still like him on the whole. So the rat should be the same. The tail is just one part of her she can't help but have, but on the whole is a rather enjoyable creature to be around."

"Monkey could definitely go without those traits so the metaphor doesn't work," Pigsy retorted, voice blunt. Sandy rolled her eyes and held Monkey out again.

"The concept is still there. Now I’ve only known this rat for a moment, but I do know she would never hurt you, Tripitaka."

“She hurt me,” Pigsy called from his spot at the fire.

“Only because you frightened her.”

Monkey snorted, sounding like a tiny sneeze. He hadn’t been frightened at all. And if he really wanted to hurt Pigsy he could have done so.

Tripitaka hesitantly held out a hand to Monkey, who almost refused to take part since his companions clearly thought so little of him, but he gamely chose to play the role of the friendly, curious wild rat. He sniffed at her fingers and picked his way from Sandy’s palm to Tripitaka’s, who flinched a little but stayed still. Eying her scarf, he forced his pace to be slow as he crawled up her arm to snuggle under the fabric. Tripitaka’s shoulders jerked and she squealed a little in what sounded like, to Monkey at least, unexpected delight.

Monkey was also delighted. He was surrounded by Tripitaka’s warm scent and he quite enjoyed the feeling of being hidden and in the dark. He poked his nose out, whiskers brushing against Tripitaka’s face and she giggled. She reached up and ran her fingers along his back. Monkey thought for sure his gleeful smile would give him away before remembering the expression probably didn’t transfer to a rodent. Hopefully. He nudged her cheek with his nose.

“You see, Tripitaka? Not so bad,” Sandy said with only a hint of self-righteousness.

“She is quite different from all the other rats I’ve seen,” Tripitaka admitted.

Monkey’s heart sank when he felt his power starting to surge again. He had been quite enjoying his time as a rat.

“Although,” Sandy pondered, “I do wonder what kind of rat would be so bold as to approach a camp in broad daylight.”

A rat that needed to immediately escape into the cover of the woods, Sandy. Monkey hastily wrestled himself free from Tripitaka and dashed down her body and into the grass as fast as his small legs would carry him. Tripitaka made a sad sound.

“What did I do?”

Sandy’s fading tone was nonchalant as Monkey fled into the forest, not daring to stop and look back. “She probably remembered she had some important rat business to attend to. What a busy, affectionate little thing.”

Monkey had barely made it into cover before he tumbled back into his original form, ending in a crouch reminiscent of the rat’s posture. He huffed and stood up to dust himself off. Well that was fun. At least now he knew where Pigsy kept his stash. He didn’t need to be a rat to be a perfect thief.

He headed back to the camp, figuring the rat had elevated Tripitaka’s mood enough to be safe for him to return. Tripitaka and Sandy were playing cards and theorizing what sort of business their rodent guest had remembered, each suggestion getting more ridiculous than the last. They both glanced up when Monkey casually settled down near them.

“Nice of you to join us, Monkey.” Sandy’s voice was breezy, as always.

Tripitaka examined the cards in her hands without really looking at them. Monkey’s mouth quirked.

“I’m sorry-” they both said at the same time before breaking it off awkwardly.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Monkey muttered after a pause. Tripitaka nodded.

“Me too.”

Sandy rearranged her hand of cards, a light smile on her face. Tripitaka gestured to the stack, silently asking if he wanted in.

Monkey smirked. “Thought monks weren’t supposed to play cards. But yes.”

Tripitaka rolled her eyes and passed him the cards. “Not a monk.”


	2. Chapter 2

Monkey spent another lonesome night in the woods after everyone else had fallen asleep, dreading the transformations that never came. He kept imagining scenarios in which he shapeshifted into a fish or another aquatic creature in the middle of the night and no one would be awake to help him. The paranoia kept him awake until the dawn forced him to return to the others to avoid suspicion. Another sleepless night. Monkey knew gods had great fortitude and stamina compared to humans, but he didn’t know what the upper limit was for a god going without sleep. He wasn’t looking forward to finding out, but at the rate he was going with figuring out these rogue powers...

Tripitaka kept looking over her shoulder at him as they marched, which he adamantly ignored. He was deliberately lagging behind again, resigning himself to another quiet day of not talking to anyone, and wished she wouldn’t check on him so often. It would be just his luck if she caught him losing his fight for control to a transformation. She dropped back to try and speak with him, but he waved her off and said he needed to be alone for a while. It wasn’t a total lie. He could feel her critical stare searching his face, taking in the dark circles under his eyes and tired lines marring his handsome features.

“We can stop if you’re tired, Monkey.” Her voice was void of any judgment, but to Monkey it felt like an insult to his already wounded ego.

Monkey smothered an urge to yawn. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tripitaka shrugged and left him to stew in his self-loathing.

She gave it another hour of walking and tossing concerned looks at him over her shoulder, then said she needed a break. Sandy pointed out that if they kept going they would reach the town by nightfall. Pigsy immediately sided with Tripitaka when she argued they could easily finish the journey the next day.

“What do you think?” Sandy asked.

It took him a minute to realize she was speaking to him and fumbled for words. “Tripitaka’s right.” That was usually the correct response for Monkey. It dawned on him he might be able to slip away and nap in the woods if they were stopping for the rest of the day. He perked up at the prospect. On the outside, Monkey made sure to keep his face neutral as they set up camp, but internally he had never been so excited to go take a nap.

Naturally his powers decided to creep in again, lovingly igniting his veins into a low simmer, dashing his hopes for a peaceful rest when it started to turn up the heat into a boil, keying him up.

Monkey muttered he wanted to go train and tore out of the camp before anyone could suggest they spar with him. Or speak to him. Or look at him. He just barely managed to make it out of sight before he felt the changes begin in earnest. This time they were slow, almost pondering, and after enduring them he longed for the explosive change of the tiger. His skull extended into a pointed muzzle as his fingers curled into paws. A wispy tail feathered with long fur appeared while his ankles extended. His ears, covered in long curly fur, suddenly flopped down around his face just as suddenly as he flopped onto all fours once again. His wet nose quivered and he examined his new shape once he felt settled.

He was a medium sized hound of sorts, covered in a soft black coat of silky fur. Long, thin legs that went on for far too long pawed the ground, itching to run and chase. Everything about him was delicate and pointy. Monkey growled. This was not a look he liked on himself. His nose twitched and the scents of the forests suddenly overwhelmed him, adding to his already wired with energy body. Movement caught his eye as a small deer stepped cautiously out from behind a tree, ears swiveling.

Monkey exploded forward, paws ripping up clumps of dirt, barking wildly. The deer sprang away, tail flashing, and Monkey was all too eager to pursue. The forest became a green blurred tunnel as Monkey focused solely on the deer, his long legs effortlessly keeping pace, easily clearing fallen trees and weaving through the brush. The hound was clearly destined to give chase to creatures such as these, getting more excited as the run went on while the deer began to show signs of tiring. Eventually Monkey made a clumsy flying leap to tackle his quarry, but the deer dodged and Monkey willingly let it go, panting as he slowed to a halt. The deer vanished into the trees to run another day, the sound of its drumming hooves rapidly fading. Monkey licked his nose. Now that was fun. He had clearly underestimated this delicate looking hound and how enjoyable it could be.

He wouldn’t mind spending the rest of the day like this, tracking through the forest and chasing other woodland creatures. If he was going to be stuck as a dog he was going to enjoy it while it lasted, considering he now couldn’t possibly sleep. He’d rather be away from the others anyway. Head and tail held high, he galloped after countless interesting smells, and yelped when a sharp pain stabbed into his paw.

Best laid plans…

He sat down hard and growled when his teeth couldn’t grab the thorn embedded deep into the pad and licked at it to try and soothe the pain away. He may be sporting a delicate muzzle but it wasn’t delicate enough for this task. He needed human hands for this problem. He grit his teeth. Maybe he could wait until the transformation wore off and dig the thorn out himself. The pain flared up in his paw again, and he dismissed the notion. He also had a bad feeling he would be stuck in this form for a while.

Hefting a sigh, he tucked his paw up and slowly hobbled back to the others.

\---

Light from the fire danced over his eyes. He didn't see or smell Tripitaka, and he didn't want to approach the camp without her or her human emotions to shelter him from Sandy and Pigsy’s more pragmatic views on life on the road. He crouched low and waited, doing his best to ignore his aching paw.

He didn't have to wait long. Tripitaka approached the fire with an armful of firewood and his tail involuntarily thumped. Monkeys first impulse was to immediately run in and demand Tripitaka help him but stifled it to try and make his approach look authentic. Dogs approach humans for help, right? So this wouldn't be too out of the ordinary? Monkey listened to the group talk amongst themselves, feeling left out before sniffing and hauling to his feet, nervously licking his lips. Pride made him hold his head high and trot casually, but he cringed when his paw spiked in pain. He let out a small whine and hopped into the clearing.

The trio noticed him immediately. Tripitaka's eyes widened, Pigsy frowned, and Sandy remained neutral. 

"Are we under a spell that attracts every nearby woodland creature or something?" Pigsy grumbled. 

Monkey ignored him and went straight for Tripitaka and sat down in front of her. She unconsciously leaned slightly away from him, unsure. He cocked his head and held up a paw, making his features as soft and innocent as possible. 

"He's hurt," Tripitaka realized and took his paw to examine it. Monkey's tail thumped again and he licked his chops. Compassion was a good look on her. "Sandy, could you hold him? There's a thorn."

Sandy approached warily. Clearly her affection for rats didn't extend to dogs. Monkey had a dark thought and wondered if people had set their dogs on her when she was mistaken for a demon. Sandy knelt and restrained Monkey's head in her arms in an iron grip. "Lucky dog to run into the one monk with a soft heart in the wilderness," she mused. 

Tripitaka ignored her and looked directly into Monkey's eyes. Monkey licked his lips, suddenly restless. He could have sworn he glimpsed the briefest spark of recognition in Tripitaka’s eyes, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. He hoped he had imagined it.

"Don't bite anyone, okay?" Tripitaka said quietly. 

Well, Monkey couldn't guarantee he wouldn't nip at Pigsy, but-

Tripitaka yanked out the thorn and he jerked his paw away with a cry, but his tail immediately wagged when the pain receded. Sandy gingerly released him when she didn’t see any aggression and moved away. He almost bowled his monk over in his excitement and bumped his snout into Tripitaka's face, at the last second restraining the dog instinct to lick her face with a woof. He realized how stupid he must look and backed off, although his tail was still clearing the ground of any leaves within its radius. Tripitaka smiled at him and gently caressed his head and scratched under his chin. His eyes squeezed shut and he greedily leaned his entire weight into her legs with a contented sigh. She giggled.

"So I guess he's grateful at least," Pigsy commented. "Wonder who he belongs to."

"Well he's welcome to hang around me," Tripitaka said. Monkey's tail thumped harder. "If you two are fine with it, that is." 

Sandy shrugged but kept her distance and Pigsy rolled his eyes. 

"Wonder what Monkey will say," Sandy mused, still watching him with barely disguised suspicion. 

"Monkey can deal with him," Tripitaka said firmly. “Who knows, they may bond over their hair.” She affectionately combed through the silky fur on his ears, and his eyes drooped with delight. It wasn’t quite as nice as someone playing with his real locks but this was an acceptable substitute. Especially since Tripitaka was the one doing it. Monkey considered how he was both dealing with and bonding over his and the dog’s hair, but probably not in the way Tripitaka was imagining. He jealously watched her eat Pigsy's latest concoction and tried in vain to search for the power to change himself back so he could join in, his hunger making him not care if he was discovered.

Tripitaka noticed his long face, took another bite, then put the bowl on the ground by his feet. 

Was Tripitaka certain she wasn't actually a god of compassion or mind reading? She didn't need to ask him twice and he happily tucked in.

"You're giving my soup, which I lovingly made for all of us, to the dog?" Pigsy grumbled.

"He needs it too. Besides, I was finished with it." The dog part of Monkey sensed she was lying.

"Tripitaka, he clearly adores you already. You didn't need to give up your portion," Sandy argued. Monkey appreciated her looking after Tripitaka as well as her ability to sense deceit, but was still grateful for the dinner, sparse as it was. Tripitaka pet his back as he cleaned off the bowl. 

"See? He even cleans up after himself," she said with a grin. 

Sandy was unmoved and Pigsy cringed.

"That's disgusting.” His voice was flat. “But give that here. I’ll give Monkey his dinner in that when he finally gets back from whatever he's doing." He cackled and snatched the bowl away. Monkey flattened his ears. To be fair, that was something he would do to Pigsy, so he couldn't be too angry. 

 ---

Hours passed, and Monkey was still playing the part of a friendly dog, much to his annoyance. However, Tripitaka had made it much more tolerable by absently massaging his skull and stroking his back almost the entire time he had been there. Monkey was almost reluctant to leave this form since it was clearly a crowd favorite. He kept expecting the magic to kick back in again so he could return and check in just before spending another night alone under the trees, but it never did, worrying him.

Tripitaka was also worried. "It's been long time. Monkey should have been back by now."

Monkey fidgeted with his paws when his tail wagged at the mention of his name.

Pigsy shrugged. "It's the first time since the Jade Mountain that the cloud has been answering his call. They're probably off in the sky catching up and he's lost track of time again. I wouldn't worry."

"The only thing that can really bother him up there is dragons, Tripitaka." Sandy was also nonchalant. "And I think he would have the sense to not bully a dragon."

Monkey huffed. There was one time as a much younger god when he didn't know better that he had done exactly that, but Sandy didn't need to know about that incident.

Tripitaka didn't respond. Her hand tightened a little on his fur and he nudged her knee with his head in response.

\---

He kept his head on his paws and listened as Tripitaka fell asleep, his darting thoughts keeping away even the thought of sleep despite his fatigue. What if he never changed back? This form seemed content to keep him trapped for far longer than the others had put together. He hadn't felt any indication his powers were surging. They had been eerily quiet the entire time he had spent as a dog. How was he going to explain that he couldn't control his own powers and got stuck when he couldn't even speak? How could he be a part of the quest stuck as a dog? He can't protect Tripitaka if he can't kill demons. He can't guide her if he can't communicate. He squeezed his eyes shut, stifling a growl of frustration before sitting up.

Taking a deep breath, he focused inward like the Master had taught him and sought after the power he needed to change back. He focused on how the power swirled and moved within him and on the memory of how it felt when he regained his original form. Focused on his need to wrestle these powers under control.

Pigsy coughed. Monkey wanted to bite him for breaking his concentration. 

The snapping of the fire and scents of the forest faded when Monkey focused again. At first he felt nothing. Then there was the slightest sense of the power lurking deep within. Monkey made a triumphant grab for it and willed for it as hard as he could to transform himself back. 

He opened his eyes and glanced down to see paws. 

This time he couldn't help but snarl in fury and ducked when Pigsy chunked a rock at his head. Fur bristled along his spine and he growled.

"Quiet you," Pigsy hissed. "The only reason I don't chase you off right now is for Tripitaka’s sake." Monkey silently curled a lip at him in habitual defiance but forced himself to relax again. He glanced at Tripitaka. She had stirred and shifted slightly but hadn't woken up. No harm done then. 

Still didn't solve his problem. 

Monkey stifled a whine. Tripitaka stirred again and blearily opened her eyes and sat up. 

"'S wrong, big guy?"

Nothing she could solve. He padded behind her and plopped down with a heavy sigh, absently hoping that her abundant willpower and discipline would overflow into him by her proximity and get him to regain control. She shrugged and rested her head on his shoulder. His feathered tail curled around her, grateful for her comforting presence.

“What sort of problems could a dog possibly have, huh?” she murmured sleepily before drifting off again.

The kind of problems where Monkey’s dog body was getting all the attention and not him personally and he couldn’t control being a dog and he missed being able to talk and be noticed and he was miserably lonely…

Monkey sighed again. He was definitely not going to sleep tonight.

\---

Monkey spent the rest of the night only dozing restlessly, not daring to let himself fall asleep despite his exhaustion. Before sunrise he wriggled his way out from underneath Tripitaka without waking her up and shook off his weariness. He didn’t mind his dog body being used as Tripitaka’s pillow, but he also missed sleeping without the fear of shapeshifting in front of everyone and blowing his cover. He stretched his long legs and caught a faint suspicious and foul scent on the breeze, and broke into a gallop to chase after it, eager to distract himself from his misery. The hilly road stretched out before him, and he increased his pace, his long legs easily tearing up the ground until he was almost flying. He crested a bluff and halted, panting. A demon was lurking several hundred feet away. Monkey was familiar with the breed, a generic hive soldier. This one was probably scouting, which meant there was a nest with an army and its leader not too far away. Another breeze confirmed his suspicions, as the foul scent from the demon was joined with other, similar scents of the nest miles away.

The demon noticed him, and brandished its sword with a hiss. Monkey barked a challenge and leaped down the slope and lunged towards it with bared fangs, blood boiling for a proper fight. His long legs accelerated him into an attack speed, but a blue blur snatched him back by the scruff of the neck and he yelped.

“No, dog. You’ll get hurt,” Sandy breathed at him before rushing to engage the scout herself.

Something bristled along Monkey’s back. He thought it was his hackles, but realized with fear it was his transformation power. Monkey started to make a run to hide behind another hill away from Sandy and her prey, but he shifted back to normal, thankfully in an instant that Sandy’s back was turned to him. Standing on two legs was suddenly a foreign sensation and he almost tripped when he made a run for the fight, staff drawn. Sandy aimed a precise strike and the demon vanished in smoke. She turned and eyed him.

“Where have you been, Monkey?” she inquired calmly, unruffled by her clash with the demon. “Did you see a dog run by?”

“Scouting, of course,” Monkey scoffed, tucking his staff under his arm. “And why was there a dog?”

Sandy ignored him. “Did you see where it went?”

Monkey gestured in a random direction. “If you were referring to the skinny yapping creature it went that way. Looked like it was in a hurry. The demon probably scared it off.”

“It didn’t seem scared to me,” Sandy replied blithely. “I had to stop it from attacking a demon and getting itself killed.”

“The dog would’ve been fine,” Monkey protested, suddenly irritable. “Why do you care anyway?”

“I personally don’t care,” Sandy said, ignoring his sudden change in attitude towards the now non-existent dog, “But Tripitaka seemed quite attached to him. We should go tell the others about this.” She turned and began the trek back to camp. Monkey suppressed a smirk at this and followed.

\---

Tripitaka was saddened when Sandy relayed the news to her about the dog running off, but said she was just happy he was safe.

“I’m also glad that you’re alright,” she said, her voice flattening when she turned to Monkey. “Considering you didn’t bother to check in last night like you always do.”

Monkey’s face twitched and avoided her flinty stare. He was just happy he wasn’t a dog anymore.

“We have a bigger problem,” Sandy continued. “There was a demon not too far from our location. What did you find while you were out scouting, Monkey?”

Monkey cleared his throat, ignoring Tripitaka’s thoroughly unimpressed look. He knew this current excuse was flimsy and that Tripitaka seemed to know it. Monkey hadn’t been scouting, but he told them what he knew about this particular breed of demon and that where there was a scout, there was more. Pulling from his past experience he deduced that the nest was holed up in the town, making it sound like he had seen it personally. When he suggested they should avoid the town entirely, Pigsy and Tripitaka both shot the idea down.

“We’re too low on supplies and the next town is too far. We need to restock,” Pigsy argued.

“And obviously we need to free the town,” Tripitaka interjected forcefully. Monkey didn’t like the idea of engaging in a battle with a swarm of demons when he could randomly transform into a sheep or something equally useless in a fight at any time.

“I’ve dealt with this sort of scum before,” he sniffed. “If the leader is killed, the swarm of soldiers soon follow when they have no objective. Now I could probably take on the army by myself…”

“But it would be smarter to infiltrate the town and take out the leader unnoticed,” Sandy interrupted. Monkey was relieved he didn’t have to spell it out for them. “We three could do it.”

“And leave Tripitaka unguarded? I think not,” Monkey scoffed. “I’ll stay with her. The less people that go into the nest the more likely you won’t be seen.” And it would be less likely he would compromise the mission if a transformation went haywire. As much as he hated the idea of being alone with Tripitaka where his powers could easily give him away, he hated the idea of getting killed by a demon as a literal chicken more.

Pigsy raised an eyebrow at Monkey at the implication he’d rather sit out a fight. “Are you feeling okay, Monkey?”

“Fine. Why?” Monkey could practically hear Tripitaka’s look of bewilderment.

“You’re normally the first to jump into action is all.”

Monkey scowled at him, unable to find an answer but Tripitaka unwittingly saved him.

“We need to wait until it’s dark to get into the town. Today we’ll stay on the edge of this forest and get as close as we can without being seen, then Sandy and Pigsy will sneak in.”


	3. Chapter 3

Thankfully the rest of day passed without interruption from Monkey’s unpredictable transformations, although his fatigue was rapidly catching up to him. He was at the point where he could, with enough focus, force the transformations to stop, but each time was like choking down a mouthful of shattered glass. Again he made sure to deliberately trail behind the others in case he needed to find a fast escape, but his mood was terrible. He snapped at anyone who tried to walk beside him or even make friendly conversation, angering him more and deepening his loneliness. Just another thing to add to the growing list of things he couldn’t control, the cloud, his powers, and now his temper. He wasn’t feeling up to interacting with anyone, especially with what he knew was to come tonight. Just one more hurdle to get over on this stupid journey.

The power flared dully for the umpteenth time today, but he gritted his teeth and his rage forced it down until his head throbbed and his veins were laced with fire. Monkey wasn’t sure how long he could hold this transformation off. If it was like the last time, he would be stuck for even longer. It had to wait until the demon’s nest was cleared out. Monkey found himself checking the sun over and over, silently urging it to set faster.

The group stopped on the forest’s edge as close as they could to the village. Monkey was still managing to suppress his powers, and was also doing his best to rein in his irritation at every sound and sensation the others produced. A few hours after night had fallen Sandy and Pigsy began their mission, leaving him alone with Tripitaka, which wasn’t much better. Her eyes had been scorching holes in his back when she thought he wouldn’t notice. Tripitaka’s compassion was a trait that Monkey admired under normal circumstances, but today it was infuriating.

He repetitively shrank and extended his staff, restlessly pacing, almost tripping several times. His concentration was faltering from his exhaustion, and Tripitaka noticed. She cautiously approached him and sat down to wait for him. He hesitated, checking around him out of habit to see if he had an escape route or a place to hide if he had a power surge, although he knew it would be futile. He eventually joined her on the grass, but not too close.

“Sandy and Pigsy will be fine. The plan will work.” Her voice, normally calming, felt like screeching knives to his flayed nerves. He shut his eyes and did his best to calm himself down. The erratic power was flowing like a current beneath his skin, lurking, waiting. He swallowed hard. He had reached the point of being too tired to sleep even if he wanted, although his impatient energy would have kept him wired regardless.

“I know things have been off between us over the last few days,” Tripitaka continued, unaware of his invisible struggle and that it really wasn’t her fault that things were strained. “But I was just worried about you. You seem different lately.”

Monkey chuckled, an empty, pitiful sound. That was one way of putting it.

"What's wrong, Monkey?" Tripitaka asked him quietly. She always seemed to know if anything was amiss with him, but his odd behavior that was giving him away lately wasn’t subtle in the slightest. He let out a relieved sigh when the power faded away entirely for the first time today, almost in response to her concern.

His nose twitched and he fiddled with his hairpin while he briefly debated telling her everything. However his stubborn pride won out.

"It's... Complicated." Even getting one word out was like pulling teeth.

Tripitaka wasn't convinced. "God things?"

He nodded and exhaled sharply. "My powers are... Rusty."

She frowned at him. "Are you talking about the cloud? Is that why you've been away so often?"

Yes. The cloud. He could blame everything on it. The cloud probably caused all of this anyway. It took a great effort to keep himself from pouting when he nodded, and hoped his face was neutral.

"I try to make it listen to me and it just... Does what it wants, whenever it wants. Even if it could put me in a bad spot."

Tripitaka considered for a moment. "I didn't know the cloud had that strong of a personality."

Monkey snorted. Yeah, she could say that, either about the cloud or his rogue transformation powers. "It does."

"Matches its master pretty well," she commented innocently.

He let out a noncommittal grunt. At the moment he didn’t feel like a master of anything.

"Must be tough to try and make it behave in a civil manner," she continued with a wry smile. Monkey had a suspicion she wasn’t talking about the cloud at this point and he shot her a disgruntled look.

Monkey harrumphed when she laughed at him. He couldn’t be mad at her or her laugh. He paused, letting the silence build again before he continued. "It's hard to focus on the quest, and tonight for that matter, when I can't make... The cloud... Do what I want. It’s like I can't control it at all. Like when it appears and how long it stays."

Tripitaka turned her attention to the stars and was quiet for a long moment. For once he wasn’t bored with the silence and was content to just sit beside her, basking in her calm presence. Finally she spoke.

"Maybe the secret to working with such a strong will is to not force it to do anything. Maybe the way to manage it is to realize you don't have to always _be_ in control, and then make peace with whatever happens after that. The Scholar said things like that."

Monkey looked fully at her, taking a moment while her focus was on the sky to allow himself to admire how the starlight reflected off her skin. Was she referring to him or the cloud? He realized he should say something.

"Perhaps you're right, little monk."

She turned her gaze from the sky to smile knowingly at him. "You know I'm not a monk."

Monkey ripped up a few blades of grass and played with them to force his attention from her face. There was no way she hadn’t caught him staring. "No, but you are about as wise as one." 

He could sense her smile and she laid a reassuring hand on his arm. “You’ll figure it all out, Monkey. Just give it time.”

His mouth quirked into a half-hearted smile. Movement in the hills below them suddenly caught his eye, and his smile faded as he hauled to his feet. A patrol of hive soldiers were making their way towards their position. Monkey growled. If the nest had discovered they had been infiltrated by enemy forces, naturally they would send a detachment to investigate the one place close enough to hide reinforcements. In hindsight he really should have seen them coming from miles away. But in the moment he would chalk his lack of attention from his stress from enduring a string of sleepless nights. For now, he could do what he did best. Pest control.

“Tripitaka…” he began, but she was already nodding at him and turned to vanish into the trees. Although he was quite proud at her marked improvement in regards to her fighting skills, they both knew it would be best if she stayed hidden for now. He brandished his staff, stalking forward and sizing up his opponents. His exhaustion was leaching away due to his fighting instincts, although his movements were sloppy and not nearly up to his normal standards. They would have to do for tonight. He could ride out the fight on instinct alone. The demons spotted him and fanned out, chattering to each other. Monkey heard his name mentioned several times and cracked a smug grin. This was going to be fun.

He met the first with a jab, the next he swept the legs out from underneath. Monkey became a blur of motion, sending demons flying into each other or sprawled out onto the grass. A pair of demons vanished into smoke from a slash from a power-imbued swipe from his staff. He cackled with glee as another soldier fell. He definitely had needed a proper fight. A pair of demons slipped past his guard and sprinted into the forest, and he shouted a warning to Tripitaka who was hopefully far enough away to not hear it.

The rest of the demons encircled him. Monkey twirled his staff to end them all at once, but a lance of power spiked so painfully that Monkey thought his heart had stopped, almost dropping his staff. A demon swept Monkey’s feet from under him, but as he was falling, the demons instantly grew to enormous size, brandishing their weapons at where their opponent used to be.

Monkey cocked his head and looked up. The demon giants were hissing to each other, looking around, postures unsure. The grass tickled Monkey’s belly and his tongue shot out and licked his eyeball.

Gross. He zipped through the grass and hopped over the throng of boots as fast as his tiny gecko legs would carry him. Perhaps in the future he could use this trick to his advantage, but for now he needed to find Tripitaka. Not that he could do anything at the moment to help her aside from perhaps catching bugs buzzing around her head.

He didn’t have to look very far. One of the demons that had slipped past him emerged from the trees, sword pointed at his monk’s back. Her blue robes standing out like a bolt of lightning in the moonlight to his gecko eyes. She looked a little roughed up, but so did her captor. Good. The demon gestured, one demon running ahead of the detachment to likely inform the rest of the swarm, and the rest fell in line around Tripitaka and her captor and all started to march back to the village nest. Tripitaka hesitated and looked around frantically and a demon cuffed her upside the head to force her to keep her eyes forward and march. For all she knew Monkey was gone. Again. Enraged at his powerlessness, he darted over to her and crawled up her side and into her bag. She didn’t seem to notice. Then again, his gecko body was only the size of a matchstick, and she was more focused on the demons surrounding her.

Monkey spent the entire march with his head poked out of the bag, clawing for his slippery powers like one grabs at the wind. If Tripitaka knew he was currently a tiny gecko inside her bag he would never hear the end of it. Yes, he wanted to free her, naturally, but she was safe for the moment. Hive demons like this weren’t interested in outright killing humans, just using them or their resources or labor for the swarm. He grimaced as the power receded entirely. Not good.

A large platoon of hive soldiers were waiting for them just outside the village, with a bigger and more authoritative demon standing in front. Monkey was surprised that one human captive would warrant such a greeting. He could hear Tripitaka’s nervous breaths, and hated he couldn’t do anything to reassure her. The larger demon watched as the soldiers shoved Tripitaka to the ground, his eyes gleaming in the torchlight. Monkey scurried out of the bag and onto a nearby fence post to better watch.

Tripitaka was doing her best to look brave, but Monkey was familiar enough with her to know it was for show. The large demon leaned in closer and examined their captive. Tripitaka made an effort to scramble away from him with her bound hands, and he hissed and struck her face before grabbing it to hold her still. Monkey wanted to snarl. He wanted to fight and turn the demon into ash. He wanted to reassure Tripitaka it would all be alright, but in this tiny reptilian body could only silently watch. Tripitaka’s eyes were filled with fright, but she was resolute as the large demon studied her.

He stood up and took a few measured steps back. “It is Tripitaka,” he said in a barely audible growl.

The demons exchanged looks and whispered Tripitaka’s name over and over to each other. Their hushed and excited voices traveled through the swarm rapidly, and Monkey hated every second of it. They weren’t worthy of pronouncing it. His toes gripped the post tighter, helpless but to watch, realizing that at this point on their quest rumors had likely spread amongst demonkind about Tripitaka and her god companions. It would make sense for superstitious creatures like demons to develop theories about her and what would happen if she were killed and devoured.

One soldier landed boldly in front of her, cocking its head and chattering. It drew its knife and pointed the blade at her throat. Tripitaka swallowed hard, staying as still as stone. Another soldier lunged and slapped the dagger away and growled. The first hissed a challenge and tackled its aggressor, Tripitaka temporarily forgotten. Clearly some of the demons were interested in saving Tripitaka to present to their boss, while others wanted to taste blood now. A united swarm of demons they may be, but they were still demons. Infighting was in their nature. More demons trickled out of the city gates, curious at the noise, and Monkey was glad. That made Pigsy and Sandy’s mission that much easier.

Tripitaka was shuffling away, trying to make herself small. The larger demon was only half paying attention to her, instead repelling any of the brawlers and throwing them back into the fray. She glanced around and she did a double take when her eyes landed on Monkey, who tried desperately to blend into the wood of the fence. He licked his eyeball again. He really needed to stop doing that. She frowned, probably wondering what a lizard was doing so calmly right next to such a loud scuffle, but shuffled to her feet, slowly backing away from the demons, Monkey silently urging her on. At this point he didn’t care if he saved her or not as long as she was safe, period.

A downed soldier looked up from its prone position on the ground and noticed their quarry slipping away. He screeched a warning, and Tripitaka fled, any ideas of stealth forgotten. The soldiers stopped fighting each other and instead became a unified force again, giving chase after their shared goal. Monkey watched them go from his fence post, heart aching to fight, to run, be useful, anything. Tripitaka was quite fleet-footed, but she couldn’t outrun an entire swarm. And he couldn’t stop them. Monkey’s power flared dully in his heart, and he focused every fiber of his being to fan the flames, focusing on Tripitaka and the danger she was in. He ground his teeth together, feeling it grow.

The power roared, threatening to rip through his chest and he begged with all his heart to be something good. Something to be able to protect Tripitaka. It didn’t have to be strong or fast, just what he needed to save her right now.

The glow of power overtook him, overwhelming all of the normal sensations of a typical transformation. His lungs felt like they were about to burst and he unleashed a sky shaking roar as air currents swirled around him, throwing him into the sky. He effortlessly swam through the air, feeling the wind rushing over his scales and through his mane. Tripitaka stood out on the landscape, a glowing blue pinprick on the earth against the hoard of dull colored demons.

Monkey didn’t hesitate to dive to the ground, earth rumbling as he landed hard, throwing Tripitaka and the demons off balance. Drawing himself up to his full and imposing height, he roared again as his long tail swept away the closest demons, many turning to smoke from the force of his strike. Any demon who drew close was swiftly destroyed with rapid flashes of fangs and claws. He coiled his long body in a protective circle around his little monk, snarling at all the rest, baring his many teeth and flexing his claws. Whips of air responded to his display and lashed his sides, stirring up dust clouds and destabilizing the footing of many demons before him. His long fur along his neck and spine puffed out with the swirling wind and with the force of his aggression, and he shook his head to draw attention to his branching horns that crowned his head.

His threat worked, and the rest of the soldiers shrank away, about to retreat. But Monkey refused to let them go. He unleashed a blast of white hot flames, not stopping for breath until every last demon had been reduced to smoke. Breathing heavily, he straightened his body out and backed away from Tripitaka, taking a breath to calm himself. The air currents around him were now soothing, gently ruffling his fur. He looked down at his monk to look her over, and to measure her reaction of his form. He braced himself for her look of fear. After all, as he knew personally, the wrath of a dragon was a terrifying sight to behold.

Tripitaka was in awe. Monkey suddenly felt uncomfortable towering over her as she drank in the sight of the beast before her, envious that her rapture was all for the legendary creature and not for him personally. He stayed as still as he possibly could, tentative, but doing his best to radiate the ancient pride and splendor that dragons carried themselves with, comforted that she wasn’t afraid or repulsed by him. It was all he could do to not headbutt her with joy knowing she was alright and he had saved her, despite his recent lack of control over his powers.

His heart thumped when she slowly stretched up a hand. He felt his eyes darting between her face and her silent invitation, nostrils flaring. Monkey hesitated, then slowly dropped his head down to her level, a hair’s breadth between them. Her small hand closed the gap and rested lightly on his muzzle. He melted a little at her touch, drawing closer to drink in her comforting scent, and she leaned up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear.

"It was you all along, wasn't it, Monkey?”

Monkey jerked back, his long tail now swishing restlessly, suddenly afraid. But her face was soft as she finally saw beyond the skin he was in. He didn't like how dragon eyes made her look, all shiny and glowing with her aura and being able to see her pulse points and the air movements as she breathed. It was far too distracting. But he would endure it if it meant he could stay in this moment for an eternity and bask in her kind and understanding gaze. Relaxing, he slowly blinked at her and purred.

She reached up to gently tug at one of his whiskers and pulled his face back down, and she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. 

His powers crackled through him like a current of electricity. But this time he was able to grab it and direct it, and slowly felt himself reform back into his normal, handsome self.

Monkey shook off the last vestiges of the dragon. As powerful as the dragon was, he was quite relieved to be rid of it. Dragons were almost godlike in their own right, and it felt very strange, almost wrong, to be wielding a set of powers that weren’t his own. He hastily ran a hand through his hair, looking at Tripitaka through his eyelashes. Tripitaka’s knowing smile was warming her features, and finally being truly seen by her again made him feel just as warm. He unconsciously leaned away from her before he spoke, flustered.

"I got my transformation powers back," he stupidly blurted out. Even for him that sounded terrible.

"So I see."

Monkey ducked his head and rubbed his neck. She wasn’t a very tall human, but right now he felt small as the center of her attention.

"I was... Having difficulty upon their return, is all."

"I understand that now. But you could have told me at any time," she pointed out. Her voice was chiding, but still kind. "We could have figured them out together. Maybe I could have helped you." He fidgeted. 

"You did help me. In more ways than you know."

Tripitaka was quiet, and Monkey could see her piecing together the past few days. “So the rat…” she finally spoke, hesitant. “That was you too?” He nodded, tapping his thumbs together. Her eyes narrowed in puzzlement. “But that was a female rat.”

“Yes…?” Monkey wasn’t sure what she was getting at. “You’re a girl. It’s not a big deal.”

Tripitaka’s face screwed up like she was holding back a laugh and she looked at her feet quickly before composing herself and meeting his eyes again. “Just checking. There’s Pigsy and Sandy.”

Monkey looked over his shoulder and saw the two gods waving and sprinting towards them and winced. Tripitaka noticed.

“Am I to assume you don’t want to tell them about all this and your powers just yet?” she asked slyly.

He cracked a mischievous grin. She knew him too well.

\---

Now that the village had been freed of the demon hive, the citizens were more than happy to put the gods and Tripitaka up in the nicest rooms at their nicest tavern. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but the gesture was kind. After a debriefing over what had transpired that night (minus the return of Monkey’s transformation powers of course), Pigsy and Sandy were more than happy to go revel in the celebrations of the newly-liberated village and reap their just rewards to stock up for the next part of the journey.

Monkey stayed behind in his room and tried to sleep, but again was too tired and wired at the same time. The sunlight streaming through the window didn’t help. He growled in frustration.

There was a light knocking at the door. After he made some sort of sound of acknowledgement the door opened to reveal Tripitaka peeking in.

“Monkey? You okay?”

No, but it wasn’t like her presence was making his insomnia any worse. He waved her in and sat up on the mattress. She sat down next to him and they peered at each other. She had cleaned up the cuts and bruises on her face, but Monkey knew they’d get worse before they got better. He wished he could have figured out his powers before she had to get hurt. She was probably noting that his features looked as ragged as he felt. He was embarrassed that he let himself get this disheveled and looked away first.

“We both look like we’ve seen better days,” she finally said. “You haven’t slept at all lately, have you?”

His nose twitched and he silently shook his head. She glanced at the window. The room was still filled with the morning sun despite the drawn curtains.

“My room is on the opposite side. It’s darker in there,” she offered. “Come on, Monkey. We can’t have Pigsy and Sandy raise too many questions why the Monkey King is dead on his feet.” She pulled at his arm and he sighed and let himself be walked into her room. She sat him down on the bed and drew the curtains while he threw his armor and boots into a pile by the wall. He was settling in and already feeling like he could drift off when the bed dipped. His eyes flew open to see Tripitaka laying her head down on the pillow next to him and he made a surprised sound.

“What?” Tripitaka muttered, face flushing. “I’m tired too and it’s my room. Or did you need to be a dog again to make you feel better about this?”

It’s not that Monkey minded; far from it actually. If he had his way he would sleep next to her all the time. It made him feel more at ease knowing she was close enough to not be taken away from him. It’s just that he was the one that initiated these sorts of things and was caught off guard is all.

“Don’t need to be a dog,” he finally muttered, flustered. “I’m perfect the way I am, little monk.”

Tripitaka smiled at this, hands tucked under her cheek. “Not a monk,” she drowsily reminded him as she closed her eyes.

Monkey scooted closer and fully curled up next to her, finally letting himself peacefully drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Vaguely based off of the Chinese zodiac
> 
> -My mental image for Monkey as a dog looked something like this (because everyone likes to look at pictures of dogs): 
> 
> https://www.mediastorehouse.com/uig/animals/black/male-black-white-feathered-saluki-dog-walking-9483933.html  
> https://www.dogbreedinfo.com/saluki.htm
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
